{"id":4461,"date":"2025-03-14T22:55:24","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T22:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parquediscovery.pt\/de\/?p=4461"},"modified":"2026-04-30T13:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:20:23","slug":"donkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parquediscovery.pt\/en\/donkey","title":{"rendered":"Donkeys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Donkeys have been among the most important domestic animals since time immemorial. Although they are often misunderstood as \u00abthe poor man\u2019s horse\u00bb, they frequently proved \u2013 especially in the historical setting of the Bible \u2013 to be the better choice, and before the beginning of the machine age they even achieved worldwide distribution. Even if their labor is hardly needed anymore in industrialized countries, they continue to be valued as adaptable and likeable companion animals, so that even today there are still about 45 million donkeys worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As mentioned in the previous chapter, there are various theories about the lines of descent among the equids (Equidae). The modern domestic donkey (Equus asinus asinus<\/em>) is genetically closest to the African wild ass (Equus asinus<\/em>). However, there is archaeological evidence that in Mesopotamia the Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus<\/em>) was also crossbred in. To this day, the three species can be interbred with one another \u2013 and with horses and even zebras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While human selection and breeding in most species of livestock has led to a bewildering variety of appearances, there are only a few donkey breeds, and they also resemble one another closely. A wealth of historical depictions shows that even in biblical times donkeys looked much the way we know them today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Hebrew word chamor<\/em> (94x) designates the donkey in general and, more specifically, the male donkey. It is part of the combinations \u00abdonkey\u2019s jawbone\u00bb (Judg 15:15\u201316) and \u00abdonkey\u2019s head\u00bb (2Kgs 6:25). The word also occurs as the personal name \u00abHamor\u00bb (12x) and likewise in its Greek form \u00abEmmor\u00bb (Acts 7:16). The root can also be recognized in the Persian name \u00abHarbona\u00bb (Est 1:10; 7:9), meaning \u00abdonkey driver\u00bb. The Greek word onos<\/em> (6x) designates the donkey generally, without specifying sex. The female donkey, or jenny, is designated by the Hebrew word aton<\/em> (28x). In general, female animals are far easier to handle and were therefore preferred. Since it was not customary in Israel to castrate the males, the normal jack was too wild and aggressive to be considered as a riding or working animal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the young animals, Hebrew uses the word ajir<\/em> (7x), which can also denote the foals (formerly: \u00abcolts\u00bb) of wild asses and horses and therefore often receives an addition (\u00abfoal of a donkey\u00bb). In Greek, a foal is generally called polos<\/em> (11x) and is specified only once as an \u00abdonkey\u2019s foal\u00bb (Joh 12:15), although in all cases that is what is meant. In addition, the diminutive onarion<\/em> (Joh 12:14) \u2013 \u00abyoung donkey, little donkey\u00bb \u2013 appears. The Greek hypozygion<\/em> (Mt 21:5; 2Pet 2:16) denotes a \u00abbeast of burden\u00bb in general, but in both occurrences it is used for a donkey or a donkey\u2019s foal: huion hypozygiou<\/em> (Matt 21:5), \u00abthe young of the beast of burden\u00bb. When Luke uses the word ktenos<\/em> (Lk 10:35; Acts 23:24), a collective term for \u00ablivestock\u00bb, it remains open whether donkeys, horses, or mules are meant there. That donkeys were preferred for turning grain mills can be seen in the expression mylos onikos<\/em> (Mt 18:6; Mk 9:42), which denotes a large millstone \u2013 literally a \u00abdonkey millstone\u00bb (in contrast to the small hand millstone, 2Sam 11:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00abEstrella\u00bb lived in Parque Discovery almost like her wild cousins on the steppe. She found her own food and water and made no demands, apart from the dewormer she received once a year. And yet she enjoyed human company, came running when she was called, and willingly allowed herself to be saddled and ridden. The author found this donkey-typical combination of independence, forbearance, and submission very likeable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When looking at a donkey, one is tempted to ask why anyone would choose this model \u2013 on average noticeably smaller, slower, and somewhat sluggish \u2013 when excellent horse breeds were bred for the most varied purposes. Donkeys do, however, have special characteristics that explain their success. First and foremost is their frugality. Donkeys make use of a broader spectrum of forage plants, digest the feed about 30% more efficiently, need only about 60% of the amount, and can go longer without food and water than horses. This makes keeping them far less expensive and is a major advantage, especially in dry regions with sparse vegetation. They also live longer and are less susceptible to disease. Another special plus is their surefootedness. They are not prone to vertigo and manage mountainous and rugged routes that are impassable for horses. In addition, the wear on their hooves is much lower, which was of considerable importance before the use of horseshoes \u2013 as the rhetorical question \u00abDo horses run on rocks?\u00bb (Am 6:12) also shows. Their striking upright ears, up to 25 cm long, can be turned and tilted individually to listen in a particular direction, and are astonishingly capable. In deserts and steppes, where few obstacles break sound, hardly any background noise exists, and the air is clear and still, donkeys are said to be able to hear one another with their loud \u00abhee-haw\u00bb over distances of 60 kilometers (!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00abHop, hop, hop, little horse, run at a gallop! Over logs and over stones \u2013 but don\u2019t break your legs\u2026\u00bb Donkeys don\u2019t need that admonition, because they are in their element when it goes \u00abover logs and stones\u00bb. Their love of climbing and their surefootedness are their great advantage in mountainous terrain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A remarkable difference from horses is their behavior under stress and threat. While horses instinctively seek safety in flight and often bolt off in complete panic, the donkey simply stands still at first and carefully weighs its options. It behaves similarly when overloaded \u2013 for example, when one has loaded too much on it or when a path does not appear safe. This trait earned it the reputation of being stubborn \u2013 and it prevented it from being used as a mount in battle or as a draft animal for chariots. It is completely unsuited for direct military use. When it suddenly lapses into rigidity and stands rooted to the spot, it can drive its rider or handler to despair. This also explains the behavior of Balaam\u2019s donkey when it perceives a deadly danger that its master does not recognize (Num 22:22\u201335).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The donkey\u2019s preference for fighting rather than running becomes its undoing when it is faced with an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. This floor mosaic from AD 150 was found in a Roman villa in ancient Hadrumetum (today Tunisia) and shows the donkey as a lion\u2019s meal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If a donkey is surprised by a predator in open terrain, its steadfastness often saves its life. Most hunters are accustomed to driving a herd ahead of them, pushing slow and weakened animals out of it and killing them after they are exhausted by the chase. A healthy and alert donkey defends itself with hard, well-aimed kicks and fights fiercely for its life. Even solitary hunting lions prefer easier prey. A young and inexperienced lion can indeed eventually bring down a donkey with its far superior \u00abweapons\u00bb, but it takes a risk. If the donkey lands a direct hit, it can break its jaw or a few ribs \u2013 and an injured lion quickly finds itself in a downward spiral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even today, people take advantage of the donkey\u2019s defensiveness by placing it with sheep or goats as a guard animal. With an innate aversion it attacks coyotes and wolves aggressively as soon as it scents or spots them. In this way it reliably protects the herd, and the logic is the same: an average wolf pack is certainly capable of killing a single donkey \u2013 but they are experienced hunters who know how to assess their risk correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donkeys handled the overwhelming share of long-distance overland freight transport in antiquity. While in Egypt \u2013 where there is only flat lowland \u2013 it was uncommon to ride donkeys and they were used only as pack animals, in the mountainous regions of the Near East people were glad to have a mount that rendered reliable service under those conditions as well. They have an easy gait and cover an average of about 40 kilometers a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The small donkey caravan at the edge of the Sahara offers a harmonious sight. The animals, however, do heavy work, for each carries four slabs of salt, each weighing 30\u201340 kilograms. In regions where there are only poorly developed transport routes and supplies of fuel, oil, spare parts, etc. can be obtained only from afar, pack donkeys can still compete with the more expensive motorized means of transport.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With regard to carrying capacity, the German Animal Welfare Act states that (healthy, normal-weight, trained) donkeys may be loaded with a maximum of 25% of their body weight. That is certainly well intentioned and is accepted because today in Germany there is no longer any necessity to use donkeys as riding or pack animals. Most breeds weigh less than 200 kilograms as adults, which would limit the possible load to <50 kilograms. The Bible also contains regulations to protect donkeys. If one learned that a donkey had strayed, one was to bring it back (Ex23:4), and if it was overloaded and collapsed under its burden, one was to help the owner free it from the load \u2013 even if the owner was one\u2019s greatest enemy (Ex 23:5). On the Sabbath and on work-free festivals, the livestock were also to be allowed to rest (Ex 23:12; Deut 5:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donkeys are very resilient. In the tourism industry, however, their use is unfortunately exaggerated in some countries. In Greece, people who weigh more than 100 kilograms have therefore not been allowed to ride donkeys for several years. This picture was taken in Petra, Jordan, where no restrictions have applied so far.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to bearable loads, however, the Bible is somewhat more realistic. Moses had his wife Zipporah and his two sons ride on the donkey and probably also carried water and provisions in addition (Ex 4:20). Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, loaded \u00abtwo hundred loaves of bread, a hundred raisin cakes, a hundred cakes of summer fruit, and a skin of wine\u00bb onto two donkeys (2Sam 16:1) \u2013 which shows that a donkey can carry much more. Scientific studies show that it can still manage without difficulty even with a 50% load, and in reality it was probably more \u2013 especially at the beginning of a journey. This also becomes clear when one considers that the Greek unit of measure kor<\/em> (from koros<\/em> = sack, bundle, load; Lk 16:7) and the Hebrew unit homer<\/em> (from chamor<\/em> = donkey; e.g., Ezek 45:11, 13\u201314) denote a volume of 220 or 390 liters and are defined as a \u00abdonkey load\u00bb. Such an amount of grain would weigh between 120 kilograms (= 220 liters of oats) and 340 kilograms (= 390 liters of wheat) \u2013 so people in earlier times definitely expected more from the sturdy grey animals. This high load-bearing capacity fits well with the donkey as a symbol of humility and endurance. The Greek word for that is hypomen\u014d<\/em> and means something like \u00abto remain under (the burden)\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u00abYou shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together\u00bb (Deut 22:10). What was forbidden to Jews under the Law did not apply to Muslims. In contrast to the Bible, the Qur\u2019an contains no concrete regulations for the protection of animals. A travel account from 1884 says: \u00abToday\u2019s Palestinians are not so humane. One often sees a camel with a donkey or a cow harnessed to a plow, and it looks pitiable \u2026 Yes, I have even seen one who harnessed his donkey and his wife to the plow, which of course made a painful impression and is characteristic enough of the position of women in the Orient.\u00bb These photos from the time of the British Mandate substantiate the report.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The German Animal Welfare Act likewise stipulates that donkeys may not be kept alone. That, too, was probably often different in antiquity. Although there were wealthy people who owned entire herds of donkeys \u2013 like Job with 1,000 female donkeys (Job 42:12) \u2013 not everyone had their own donkey. The list of returnees from exile gives us a small insight. These people had attained a certain prosperity under Babylonian and Medo-Persian rule. For the long journey west, a pack animal would surely have been very useful, and yet the traveling company of almost 50,000 people is accompanied by only 6,720 donkeys (Ez 2:64\u201367; Neh 7:66\u201368).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donkey meat is tasty and of good quality. It has a low fat and cholesterol content and a favorable ratio among the various fatty acids. For the Israelites, however, eating it was forbidden because the donkey is among the unclean animals. Only during a severe famine was a donkey\u2019s head traded as food (2Kgs 6:25). In Greek and Roman cuisine, donkey meat was an ingredient in various dishes \u2013 and to this day, some recipes for premium salamis remain in use in which it is the main ingredient (although it has meanwhile mostly been replaced by beef and pork).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since carcasses in Israel were not utilized, they were thrown outside the city wall as refuse, where scavengers set upon them. If a donkey died on the road, it was simply left at the roadside. Samson probably passed such remains when he grabbed a jawbone (half of the lower jaw) and with it struck down a \u00abheap\u00bb of Philistines. He expressed his triumph in a little wordplay. That is possible because the word for \u00abheap\u00bb and \u00abdonkey\u00bb sound alike: Shimshon bilchi ha-chamor \u2013 ha-chamor ha-moratajim!<\/em> \u2013 Samson, with the donkey\u2019s jawbone, has heaped up a heap (of his enemies) (Judg 15:14\u201316).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Worn-out donkeys still remain lying by the roadside in some countries, as here in Morocco (unless the animal dies near a settlement). The bone on the left is a \u00abdonkey\u2019s jawbone\u00bb. Samson wielded it as a weapon and killed 1,000 Philistines with it (Judg 15:15).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The abandoned carcass in the roadside ditch is mentioned once more in a grim context. As punishment for his contempt for the word of God, King Jehoiakim is told that he will be buried \u00abwith the burial of a donkey\u00bb (Jer 22:19) \u2013 that is, not at all. Instead, he would be \u00abdragged away and thrown out, far beyond the gates of Jerusalem\u00bb \u2013 \u00abhis corpse shall be cast out, exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night!\u00bb (Jer 36:30).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the donkey we are dealing with a domestic animal that is unclean by nature (Lev 11:1\u20138), yet can submit in willing service and is highly valued. Through these characteristics it becomes a symbol of the human being in need of redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This passage portrays that impressively. You are to \u00abconsecrate to the LORD your firstborn sons and offer to him every male animal that is the first to be born from its mother. In place of every firstborn donkey, you shall offer a lamb and thus redeem it. If you do not want to do so, then break the young donkey\u2019s neck! But you must in any case redeem your firstborn sons. When your children one day ask what this custom means, then explain to them \u2026\u00bb (Ex 13:12\u201313). These three verses contain much information: God claims all male firstborn of humans and animals for himself. For the clean animals, the firstborn was to be slaughtered as a sacrifice (cf. Num 18:17). Unclean animals and humans were not allowed to be sacrificed but were to be redeemed (cf. Num 18:15\u201316). If a donkey could not be redeemed by a lamb, its neck was to be broken (cf. Ex 34:20). This regulation had a didactic purpose: one could use it to explain to one\u2019s children what redemption means. If they wanted to know why the lamb had to die, the father could explain: \u00abThere is clean and unclean. The donkey is unclean, just as we human beings are also unclean. God cannot accept the donkey; I would actually have to break its neck and throw it onto the rubbish heap. But if I slaughter and offer the clean lamb in its place, the donkey may live on. It will grow \u2013 and when it has become big and strong, it will serve us with its strength.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus this command foreshadows the basic outlines of the gospel. The human being, as the Creator\u2019s property, is unclean because of sin. Therefore he stands under a death sentence that must be carried out \u2013 unless he is redeemed by his owner. That is exactly what God did: \u00abHe paid for you with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who, pure and without sin, became the sacrificial Lamb of God\u00bb (1Pet 1:18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u00abOffering of Isaac\u00bb has inspired countless artists to produce great works. In pictorial depictions \u2013 such as this painting by the Dutch painter Gerard Hoet (1648\u20131733) \u2013 one can often discover, small and in the distance (marked here with the circle), a remarkable detail: the servants and the donkey must remain far from the action as Abraham goes with Isaac up a mountain to offer him (Gen 22:4\u20135). Neither Jews nor Gentiles had insight into what was spiritually happening on Golgotha as the fulfillment of this prophetic sketch, when God judged the sin of the world on His Son.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the path the Lord Jesus walked in order to become the sacrificial Lamb of God, there is at the beginning and at the end a symbolic reference to the donkey. At His birth, only a manger is mentioned (Lk 2:7, 12, 16), into which He was laid. But since next door there was a fully occupied inn for travelers, it is not unlikely that riding and pack animals were kept near the manger. In any case, the keyword \u00abmanger\u00bb early on prompted a connection with the following verse: \u00abAn ox knows its owner, and a donkey the manger of its lord; Israel does not know, my people do not understand\u00bb (Isa 1:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the fourth century, \u00abox and donkey\u00bb have been a fixed part of the \u00abnativity scene\u00bb, as the pictorial depiction of the Lord\u2019s birth is called. In their interpretation of the Isaiah quotation, the Church Fathers went even further by equating the ox (a clean animal that nevertheless bears the \u00abyoke of the Law\u00bb) with Israel, which indeed knows its owner but does not notice that He has come to them in this child. They identify the donkey (as an unclean animal that must be redeemed) with the non-Jews (Gentiles, nations), who recognize that this is \u00abthe manger of their Lord\u00bb, submit to Him, and become His followers (Christians).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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No nativity play without \u00abox and donkey\u00bb. At times, however, they dominate the scene so much that, when looking at it, one asks whom this is really about.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The donkey has its best-known appearance in the Bible on Palm Sunday, when the Lord Jesus rides into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey\u2019s foal and is publicly proclaimed as Messiah. In doing so He fulfilled the prophecy: \u00abRejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey\u00bb (Zech 9:9). It is striking that the Lord does not sit on the likely much larger mother donkey, but on her foal \u2013 after all, both animals are prepared and presented for selection: \u00abThey brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on the colt\u00bb (Mt 21:7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In some donkey breeds, a dorsal stripe crosses with a shoulder stripe, which is called a cross marking. The idea that donkeys received this cross sign when the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem on one of them on Palm Sunday is only legend. But compared with the wild ass, which lets nothing \u00abcross\u00bb its path in life, it seems like the symbol-laden hallmark of a tamed \u00abcross-bearer\u00bb (Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Even more astonishing is that no one had ever sat on this young animal before (Mk 11:2). Normally donkeys have to be \u00abbroken in\u00bb. It is naturally unlikely that an animal that has never carried a rider would immediately submit and trot right through a screaming crowd waving palm branches. Walking over the garments and branches spread on the road by the people is also contrary to its nature. One would expect the colt either to buck wildly and bolt or to \u00abdig in its heels\u00bb and refuse altogether. But in the service of the Lord Jesus it carries Him obediently through the city. The whole scene is a miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that day, moreover, the 69 weeks of years also ended (exactly 173,880 days, as first set forth in the book \u00abThe Coming Prince\u00bb), after the completion of which the prophet Daniel had announced the appearance of the Messiah (Dan 9:25). The next verse, however, says that after that the Messiah would be cut off, or \u00abexterminated\u00bb. For Jews who still await the Messiah today, the meaning of this prophecy does not become clear, since it contradicts what they associate with his coming. Only in the New Testament does it become apparent that this statement was fulfilled when the Lord Jesus was crucified a few days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The donkey also plays a role in the symbolism. The Lord Jesus did not come as judge, but as Savior (Joh 3:17), to reconcile us to God (Rom 5:10; 2Cor 5:18\u201320), \u00abmaking peace by the blood of his cross\u00bb (Col 1:20). He entered Jerusalem (= \u00abfoundation of peace\u00bb) and made His intention of peace clear by riding on a donkey. As already mentioned, the donkey is useless for battle. Moreover, men riding (small!) donkeys are not a particularly dignified sight, although the riding itself already implies a certain claim (cf. Judg 5:10; 10:4; 12:14). In this way the Lord Jesus also expresses His humility. He did not come to rule or \u00abto be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many\u00bb (Mk 10:45).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as lamb and donkey were described as being in a special relationship in the Mosaic Law (Ex 13:13), here too the donkey\u2019s foal can be compared with the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God:<\/p>\n\n\n\n